The easiest way to test your Anti-Virus On-Access Scanner.

One of the easiest way to test your Anti-Virus On-Access Scanner.

Copy and paste the following code into notepad. Save it as a .txt file.

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*


- Your Anti-Virus works GREAT if it detects a virus immediatly after you paste the code.
- Your Anti-Virus works GOOD if it detects a virus immediatly after you save the code.
- Your Anti-Virus works JUST FINE if it detects a virus in 3 seconds after you save the code.
- Your Anti-Virus works BAD if it detects a virus only when you manually scan the file.
- Your Anti-Virus works VERY BAD if it doesn't detect anything no matter how you scan the file.

The code above is just a test virus code that every common Anti-Virus recognize. It does no harm, it is just to test your Anti-Virus. This test determines how fast your Anti-Virus reacts, not the Detection Rate or power of your Anti-Virus. The fastest may not be the best, while the slowest may not be the worst. If your Anti-Virus does not detect anything, CHANGE TO ANOTHER ANTI-VIRUS IMMEDIATLY!!!

avast! Home Edition

Among many Anti-Viruses, avast! home edition is one of the freeware available for download.

Although it may not be THE BEST Anti-Virus, it is fairly effective and efficient, good for a normal home user. Most important of all, it's free.

Highly recommended for users that are busy, or lazy(that's me :P) to scan your pc regularly.
It offers On-Access scanning feature, which constantly scans your computer in background, and uses very few memory for it. Unlike some powerful Anit-Viruses, avast! doesn't eat up much space of your harddisc.

Performance:	good
Ease of use:	very good
Feature:	great
Supports:	satisfying
System Requirements:	low

Overall ratings: 9/10

The default GUI of avast!
Looks like a stylish media player. You can change the skin too.

External Links:
Official Website
Download for Windows
Download for Linux
Register here

Reviews:
from wikipedia
from CNET
from TopTenREVIEWS